Royals Designate Justin Marks For Assignment

The Royals have selected the contract of right-hander Wilking Rodriguez and designated southpaw Justin Marks for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster, the team announced via press release.

The 26-year-old Marks made his big league debut with the Royals this season, tossing two innings but allowing three runs on four hits and three walks with two strikeouts. Formerly a third-round pick of the Athletics (2009), Marks was acquired along with right-hander Vin Mazzaro from Oakland in the 2010 trade that sent David DeJesus to the A’s.

Marks was solid in his time at Class-A Advanced and Double-A in the minors, but he’s struggled to a 5.23 ERA in 161 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level. He’s averaged 8.6 strikeouts and 3.7 walks per nine innings in his minor league career and held opposing lefties to a .568 OPS in 2013.